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Almost half of UK search for DVDs only online, while more search for clothes offline

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

July 24, 2013 | 2 min read

With the UK recently voted the world’s most developed online retail market, 8MS has unveiled a white paper looking at combining online and offline for retailers.

The report shows that in the lead up to the two week heat wave, predictions by the Met Office led to the sales of barbeques at Waitrose to increase by 118 per cent, and the sales of ice lollies at marks and Spencer to increase by 300 per cent.

For retailers, it could be tracked online what consumers were looking for, with searches for the word ‘Pimms’ growing exponentially according to Google Trends search data.

8MS suggest: “The best retailers are those that find a quick solution when stock becomes unavailable. High street retailers with an online presence have the edge here, because if a product is not available or out of stock online, consumers can often search nearby stores and find a solution to collect in store, often on the same day. John Lewis unveiled a new £40m web platform at the start of 2013, which it said is the foundation for future online growth and customer-focused multichannel retailing strategy.

“With an online presence, and the delivery problem solved by physical stores, on and offline players such as John Lewis should have a big advantage.

“When John Lewis opened a store in Chester in September 2011, not only did the store footfall increase, but online sales also increased by 30 per cent in the Chester area.”

However, it was found that certain sectors are more likely to lead to online traffic than others: 57 per cent of the UK buy CDs and DVDs online, while only 25 per cent purchase clothes or accessories online.

Smartphones also play a roll in driving footfall traffic from high street retailers, with consumers searching for local stores, opening times and contact phone numbers.

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